Groundwork (Episode 4.2)
The Zion Council decides not to pursue direct hostilities against the Kid and his “E Pluribus Neo” group. The Council’s reasoning is: Although their vow to offer freedom from the Matrix to all bluepills, not just those who first rejected the Matrix on their own, strains the terms of the Truce, and could lead to serious friction with the Machines, the Kid’s constant invocation of Zion’s hero, Neo, makes an attack upon his group political suicide, leading to mass protests in Zion itself. An increase in rumors concerning Morpheus has also added to the difficulty. Instead, Zion controller Tyndall decides to focus on the Merovingian arena instead for the time being. Zion’s efforts against the Merovingian have been proceeding better than expected. Zion Intel recently received a tip on an important Merovingian operations center. An operatives is sent to infiltrate the operations center with the intent on planting a bug within to give Zion advanced notice of the Exile’s plans. After receiving the fragile bug from a Zion contact, the operative receives word from Tyndall that some of the General’s commandos will be assisting on the mission in order to decrease the difficulty of entering a major operations center by creating a distraction close by. Tyndall warns the operative to be careful with the commandos, as Zion has received word of their newly developed EMCP weapons. Fortunately, Tyndall says they seem to be in short supply. With the commandos and operative met up, they head towards the operations center. The operator for the mission reads that the operations center is heavily wired to call in backup, and there’s far too many circuits to disconnect from outside the Matrix. The operator warns of the threat of mass resistance after the bug is planted. After the initial guards are quickly eliminated, the commandos take up position outside the target computer’s room prepared to defend against resistance and ensure the Zion operative is not spotted while implanting the bug into the computer. Sure enough, Exiles pour into the operations center and engage in fierce combat with the commandos. Exile and commandos begin to drop. Once the bug is planted, the Zion operative rushes out to give a hand. The efforts of the operative and the remaining commandos are enough to defeat the Exiles. They leave the operations center successfully. Tyndall reports that the bug is transmitting data at peak efficiency. The operative is sent to speak with Zion officers regarding important news. Arriving at the meeting location, the Zion officers, Niobe and Ghost, speak with the operative. Niobe: Hey, operative. I aksed for you because I’ve heard of the success you’ve had in your operations against the Merovingian. I wanted to let you know in person—and this is not to go outside this room, understand?—that we’re gearing up for an all-out offensive against his remaining forces soon. I can’t say when, exactly; we still have details to work out. We’ll have some important work for you. Be ready for it. I’m counting on you. Ghost: Words convey meaning, operative, but it is actions by which we are judged. The time for action is approaching—the time that will define us. Tyndall explains by phone to the operative that the bug planted in the operations center was part of the plan helping to lay groundwork for the offensive to come. She continues to say that perhaps the hardest part of battle is holding ourselves in readiness: maintaining an alert, balanced state, without exhausting ourselves or losing our sense of purpose. She says all Warriors should be ready for the offensive, whether it’s tomorrow or in a year, for Zion will call on them. Category:Zionite Missions (Episode 4.2) Category:Episode 4.2 Missions